The Strangest Phenomena
by Cutie5
Summary: How Jimmy really feels about Cindy and vice versa (From Jimmy and Cindy's separate POVS). Takes place after Stranded. Chapter 7 is finished.
1. One Strange Afternoon

Disclaimer: I don't own Jimmy Neutron.

**_  
Jimmy  
_**  
Girls are a very difficult species to understand. Even to this day, I still don't understand exactly what makes them tick. However, there are two girls, one of whom I was recently stranded on an island with, and another about a year older than me that I can never seem to be able to take my eyes of. Unfortunately, I'm not sure the second girl feels the same way about me that I do. Maybe it's because she's so perfect and beautiful, and the other one is...different in her own way. It's very confusing.

Now the first girl I've known quite a bit longer than the second one. She's the next smartest girl in school besides myself. We're always insulting each other, and every time I'm around her, she usually wants to compete with me at everything—grades, school projects, extra curricular activities—you name it. I never knew that all the things we thought we despised about each other would become the same things that would bring us closer together.

Let's just take for instance the last several days. My rival, Cindy Vortex, had been acting a lot nicer than usual. In fact, she was actually being nice to me, which was especially rare, even for her. I suppose it makes perfect sense since we've ended up saving each other numerous times on that deserted island. There was one point while we were stranded that I nearly died, and if it hadn't been for Cindy, I wouldn't be here now. I owe her everything, and even after all we've been though, I'm still very uncertain as to how I feel about her. Sure, there are things about her that I can't stand, but then there's this whole other side to Cindy that attracts me to her. I think I might be fooling myself. There's no way she could ever like me, even if I do find myself attracted to her—which I'm not, believe me. There is no logical way that we could ever be a couple. We still hate each other.

The strangest thing happened to me the other day that still leaves me questioning my relationship with Cindy.

I was in my lab one day working on one of my latest experiments when she showed up—alone. No one else there—just her.

"Um, hey Jimmy! What's going on?" she asked.

"Vortex...I mean, Cindy...I didn't expect to see you."

She looked at the ground shyly while she was speaking to me. "I know...I was just in the neighborhood, and since Libby's out of town I thought I'd see what you've been up to."

Now normally, I would have literally thrown her out of my lab then. But for some unknown reason, I couldn't bring myself to do it.

"Nothing much," I responded, looking up from what I was doing, "just working on another invention. It's not anything extraordinary."

"I was wondering if we could talk..."

I began to feel a bit uneasy as she walked towards me. I put down my tools and looked in her direction.

"It's about our relationship."

When she said that, a sudden chill ran through me.

"Our relationship?" I asked, looking up at her.

Cindy had one of those strange looks on her face—one of those hopeful, yet worried looks.

"I know I haven't been all that nice to you, Jimmy. In fact, I've been nothing but a pain. I know we both have our differences...but I would like that to change."

This is something I took into serious consideration. We've been enemies for as long as I can remember, yet we've been through a lot—which has brought us even closer as friends. The only problem is, every time we have a serious conversation with one another, we always end up fighting in the end.

The look in Cindy's eyes was full of nothing but sorrow. Was she really sorry for all of the things she said? Did I feel the same way too?

Before I could even answer her, she leaned in and kissed me. I looked at her with a surprised expression on my face.

"What was that for?" I asked.

Cindy paused before she answered me. "For always being there for me after all we've been through."

Now it's not like I've never been kissed before—I have...but being kissed by your thought-to-be rival is a totally different matter altogether.

Things between my rival and I were never going to be the same.


	2. Difficult Decisions

Disclaimer: I don't own Jimmy Neutron.

Cindy just stared at me with a look of embarrassment on her face.

"I'm so sorry…I don't even know what came over me."

I was so completely confused after what happened. Did I really want to be with Cindy Vortex? We're either always competing with each other, arguing over the littlest of issues, or making fun of each other. Would we be able to actually work things out and give things a try?

I quickly turned away from Cindy and pretended to go back to my work. I said the first thing that came to my mind, little knowing that what I said would have a huge impact on her.

"Cindy, I have a lot to think about right now. I think we should talk about this later."

"Later? Why later? Jimmy, this is serious. I really need to know where we stand!"

"Cindy, we're enemies! Haven't we always been? We never agree on anything!"

I felt a lot of regret after I made that statement. Again, I had started another one of our famous arguments.

"Your enemy…that's all I am to you?! Didn't what happened to us on that island mean _anything_ to you, or were you just making it all up until Libby, Sheen and Carl found us?"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" I practically stormed out of my chair.

"You know exactly what it means, Neutron! Ugh! You are so full of yourself!"

"And you're not, miss 'I'm so perfect and great'?!"

"Look who's talking, King Cranium!"

"If you have nothing better to do than to criticize me, Vortex, then why don't you just leave?"

"I wouldn't have to criticize you if would just calm down and listen to me. We're not going to get anywhere if we keep fighting."

Cindy paused before continuing to speak, pulling out an unknown object as she did so.

"You remember when you gave me this necklace? You spent almost all day making this for me."

"And your point is?"

"My point is that I know deep down inside that you truly care about me and you're too afraid to show it."

I had finally been put into a bind that I couldn't get out of. I do care about Cindy, but I never thought she would ever feel the same about me. However, we also had to realize that we are both young and that boyfriends and girlfriends, even relationships—they all come and go. How was I supposed to believe that Cindy wasn't going to say that she cared about someone else the next week, month, or even a whole year after she said she cared about me first?

This was a very difficult decision for me to make, and I knew by the look in Cindy's eyes that this might be my only chance to show her how I felt. I just wasn't sure that I could.

"How do you feel about me?" she asked.

I looked at Cindy, who was nearing tears. I couldn't believe that we were only eleven years old and already starting to have real feelings for each other.

I wanted to tell her exactly how I felt, but what actually came out of my mouth was not what I had really wanted to say.

"Cindy, we're only eleven years old. There isn't any way that we could become a couple without being taunted each and every day at school in front of everyone. We'll have enough time to worry about love and relationships when we're older."

Tears started to flow down her cheeks as soon as I had made that statement.

"So that's it. We're eleven so that means we're too young to even _try_? Neutron, this is the twenty-first century. Most of my friends are already dating!"

I sighed. She wasn't going to give up as easily as I thought. There was no logical way I could ever envision myself being tied up with Cindy. People would find out about us eventually, and that would definitely make us both feel uncomfortable.

"Cindy, we can't be together. I'm sorry."

I could tell Cindy felt like the whole world was coming to an end. It's hard to even describe the exact facial expression she had on her face before she left the room. She handed me the necklace and turned to walk away.

"I really wish you weren't so stubborn, Neutron."

_**Cindy's POV**_

Why does Jimmy always have to be so stubborn? Every time we talk about our relationship, he gets so _pessimistic_—like there's no chance we'll ever be together even if we tried.

For once in my life, I actually felt like we had connected when we were stranded together. We were actually honest and open about our feelings for once, instead of being at each other's throats. That was one of the best feelings I ever had in my life. I should have known it was too good to be true.

I stormed into my room and flung myself on my bed sobbing, remembering those last words he said to me before I left his lab.

_We can't be together, Cindy…_

I love him so much and it's tearing me apart! He doesn't even remotely understand what I've been going through these last few days. Ever since we came home, I've been thinking about him. I knew deep down inside that he loved me too—it was just a matter of showing it. He's never been afraid to run away from any type of challenge, but when it comes to taking a chance on a relationship he chickens out.

I never thought I'd ever be able to figure him out. The next few days after the "lab incident" were not what I had bargained for either.

Why do I always fall in love with the difficult guys?


	3. Confessions and Denial

_I dedicate this chapter to all my Jimmy Neutron friends, new and old, who have gotten me through some rough times in my life this year. Thanks so much for being good friends. And to my two new Jimmy friends, Justine and Joanna, I just know you guys will be awesome friends and I hope we can become really close in 2005._

Disclaimer: I don't own Jimmy Neutron.

_**Cindy (cont'd)**_

I had eventually stopped crying and went to bed early that night. I was extremely exhausted from the excruciating emotional ordeals of dealing with Jimmy Neutron. As I was sleeping, one unfortunate dream kept playing in my head over and over again—what happened yesterday. I couldn't get the images out of my head—why was he so convinced that we couldn't be together all of a sudden?

We had overcome so many obstacles while we were stranded on the island together, from saving each other from snakes to finally getting the courage to be more open and honest with each other. And, best of all, we were able to spend a whole day together having fun—that's something we rarely ever get to do. However, there was one unforgettable moment I'll remember forever—our last night on the island. It's hard for me to believe I'm actually even saying this, but after he gave me that necklace I felt like I was the girl he truly cared about all along. Just being with _him_ made me happy, and made me feel guilty at the same time for ever hating him.

Another thought also came to my mind as I was dreaming. Here I am, eleven years old and I'm falling in love with Jimmy. I mean, I always had that girl-next-door crush on him, but then I really disliked a lot of the things he's done, yet I believed that even with all of our faults combined that we could somehow make this relationship work. Even though I already have a best friend that I can share anything with, I really needed something more. I wanted to be with Jimmy more than he could possibly fathom, and I was getting a bit annoyed about the denial stage that he still hasn't overcome.

I've been in denial a long time too, but Libby already knew about what had been going on between us ever since I laid eyes on him a little over two years ago. After what happened a couple of days ago, I knew I had to get over pretending to _hate_ him and change my whole attitude on life.

I had finally awoken from my dream and all of my thoughts to the sound of my phone ringing. I glanced at the clock which read exactly 11:05 a.m. Saturday morning—Libby had just gotten back in town the night before, and I was supposed to have met her an hour ago at the mall.

I quickly picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Girl, where are you? You were supposed to meet me here over an hour ago! What's taking you so long?"

"Libby, I'm so sorry! I overslept this morning. Last night was pretty rough for me."

I rummaged around through my closet looking for something to wear as I quickly got dressed. I hate being late, especially when the mall is having their once in a lifetime mega sales!

"Cin, something's up, and I think I know what it is. You couldn't possibly oversleep on a Saturday when there's a huge sale going on in all of our favorite stores—that's not like you."

I sighed. She was going to bring up Jimmy and I again, and I was definitely not in the mood to discuss the matter that day.

Pretending as if I didn't know what she was talking about, I asked, "What makes you think something's up? I'm fine."

"Cindy, you're not fine. I know you went to see Jimmy yesterday. Sheen told me about it."

_Sheen?_ Of all people, Neutron has to tell him about what happened yesterday.

"What makes him think that I would actually go see _Neutron_?"

I could hear Libby sighing impatiently. "Cindy, I really wish you'd quit pretending to act like you hate Jimmy. You've had a thing for him for as long as I can remember."

"Libby, do we have to talk about this now? I'm really not in the mood!"

"You're always not in the mood every time I talk about your secret crush. We need to talk about this and we need to talk about it now. You've been out of it for weeks—barely even talking to people, showing up late at every single function, oversleeping. Sheen even told me yesterday that Jimmy saw you crying in your room from outside his window."

I was growing quite impatient and rather annoyed with this conversation. "I don't even know what you're talking about. I don't care what Jimmy says about me and you know it."

Oh, great. I just said Neutron's first name again. Believe me the argument gets worse from here on out.

"There, see? You just said Jimmy's first name. You _do_ like him."

"No, I don't! Look, can we just talk about this later? I'll meet you at the mall in a few minutes." And with that, I quickly hung up the phone and proceeded to get ready for the day.

**_Jimmy_**

I still couldn't get the previous day's events out of my mind. First Cindy apologizes for treating me cruel and kisses me, then we get into an argument, and finally she tries to convince me that we should be together. It was all too much to absorb.

I am going to be honest, though. Deep down inside, I really do care about Cindy, probably more than she would ever know. I just wish we weren't at such a difficult age. At eleven years old, you're not exactly a teenager and definitely not a kid anymore, but somewhere in between. If other people in elementary school were to see us together, we'd be a laughingstock each and every single day. I do have a reputation to uphold, and I couldn't afford to throw it all away on a relationship, could I?

I had just awoken to one of the most awkward Saturday mornings I ever had. I looked out the window and into Cindy's. I could see her talking on the phone, most likely with Libby and could only imagine what kind of conversation they could be having. It could be about the situation between Cindy and myself, clothes, gossip, anything. I had a hunch however, that she was talking with Libby about us—I don't know why, but I just knew.

I started to feel somewhat guilty about yesterday. I never meant to hurt Cindy's feelings, but at the same time I felt like I had done what was best for both of us. It's not like I'm a mind reader—I didn't know what was going on in Cindy's head to make her start acting the way she had acted the day before.

Some people, however, would call what happened one of the "crazy things that people do when they are in love". I don't even know what to call it, nor can I comprehend what _love_ really is. One of the most simplest definitions of love is when two special people really care about each other and are willing to do anything to show it, whether it be by affection, or by risking everything just to be with that person. I have always risked my life to save my friends because they mean so much to me. If anything were to happen to any of them due to something I caused because I let science get in the way of my good judgement, I would never be able to forgive myself.

I had let my mind drift off into my deepest thoughts, and forgotten that I had been staring into Cindy's window that whole time. It was when I saw her eyes make contact with mine that snapped me out of my trance. A look full of hurt was written all over her face that was meant for me, and only myself—no one else. I continued to stare back into her emerald eyes with no emotion whatsoever. I didn't know what to say or what to think. It was as if there was this omen telling me that I had one shot with this girl, and that I either had to take it now or live to regret it later on.

I really didn't know at that point what I wanted to do, or what I even wanted out of life anymore. Things were so much easier before I moved here. I had very little to worry about—I was and still am a straight-A student, I was always able to fit in and find a few friends to keep me company along the way, and I had Goddard, who has been a great help to me as well as one of the few inventions of mine that actually worked. It was one thing for certain, however, that I didn't have to worry too much about girls because I was busy with my studies or working on my experiments. I was content with the way my old life was, and I had no desire to ever want to change it.

When I moved to Retroville though, all of these things began to change. I had to leave my old friends behind, which was a bit hard for me, but I was able to quickly make some new friends and I was able to adapt pretty well. When it came to competition, I was definitely not ready to compete with a girl who's practically almost as smart as I was. Cindy Vortex came into the picture, and my life had taken a different turn, and things haven't ever been the same. We've been competing for the last couple of years about who is better—her or myself. We even got into the most annoying arguments over the most miniscule of issues—who's stronger, who's tougher, who can come up with the best insults, and most of all, who's smarter. Life sure didn't have to be the competition Cindy was making it out to be.

When I first laid eyes on her, I actually thought she was the most beautiful girl I had ever met. I really thought we could just be friends because we had so much in common, but she didn't want that. I had taken away her number one spot in school, and she was going to do whatever it took to reclaim what I supposedly stole from her, but I am going to be up front about this—I never stole anything from Cindy. I felt I had earned my spot because I am naturally a genius, and Cindy was still a bit far from being one. But ever since we were stranded together, I now don't feel exactly the same way that I used to anymore. I don't want to fight her anymore, but then I don't want to be too nice to her at school either—I've been teased and tormented enough!

What now stood in front of me was the most difficult decision I had to make, and I had very little time left to decide.

_A/N: I am trying to improve on trying to make these chapters longer, which is definitely one of my weak spots when it comes to writing fanfiction. I hope that you are enjoying this as much as I enjoy writing it! Please R&R and let me know how I am doing. I really appreciate the reviews from each and every one of you guys._


	4. From the Bottom of my Broken Heart

_This might be the last chapter I'll be able to put up for awhile. I'm back in college now and I'll be very busy, but I will do my best to get chapter 5 up when I can._

Disclaimer: I don't own Jimmy Neutron.

**_Cindy_**

I could see Jimmy staring at me out of his window with that expressionless look on his face. I couldn't bear to look at him for much longer than a minute before scowling and looking away. My saddened expression said it all, and I think he knew that. I was also in too big of a hurry to get to the mall to even care about what he might have been thinking at the time.

I quickly threw on my shoes and went out the door, when to my surprise, Jimmy was heading out of his house at the same time as I was. Ironically enough though, he was headed toward his lab, so he didn't even really give me the time of day. As I was headed towards the mall, though, I knew something bad was going to happen to me that day that would be out of the ordinary. Only problem is, I didn't know that Neutron would be the cause of it.

I got to the mall a little after noon to find Libby sitting on a bench with loads of shopping bags in tow. She saw me and waved.

"Hey, girl! I couldn't wait—I had to start shopping without you."

I smiled. Libby can never resist a bargain, and everything would have been nearly sold out if she would have waited for me. It was definitely understandable, considering the circumstance of my oversleeping that morning.

"Hey, it's okay! I completely understand. What'd you get though? I must see!"

Libby goes through her bags and showed me everything she bought—2 sweaters for the price of one, a new pair of jeans, and a nice dress for the spring formal coming up at school later on. Why they call it that, I'll never know. We're in elementary school, not juniors in high school. I'd never get a date anyway, so there's really no point in me going.

"I can't wait for the spring formal—I think I know who I want to take with me."

"Surely you don't mean Ultra-Freak!" I laughed.

"And what's wrong with me taking Sheen?! You know I like him, hyperactive-ness and all!"

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. She's attracted to the strangest guys.

"Well, Cin, are you goin?" Libs questioned me.

"No, probably not, unless Nick asks me, I suppose."

I always get one of those skeptical from my friend every time I talk about someone other than Jimmy. She's well aware of how I feel about him, so it shouldn't surprise me, but sometimes I just wish that I was the only one that knew. She's also been the greatest voice of reason I've ever had in anyone. I can trust her with almost anything, which is a quality that is hard to find in most people nowadays.

"Nick? Why are you still pretending to like him?"

"Because maybe I do like him." I answered nonchalantly.

She wasn't buying that excuse from what I could tell. After what I went through yesterday though, Jimmy doesn't even really want to be with me anyway. He _did _say we never could be anything, didn't he?

"Girl, you can't be serious. Why don't you ask Jimmy?"

Here we go again.

"I wouldn't go with Nerd-tron if he were the last boy on this planet. It'll go with Nick, or not go at all, but I'm definitely not going with my worst enemy ever."

I heard my best friend start to groan out of frustration. She was trying to talk some sense into me, no doubt, but at the time I was too ignorant to listen, and didn't really care.

"Okay. I wasn't going to tell you this because I promised I wouldn't, but Jimmy and I had a very interesting conversation the other day about you."

Shaking my head in disbelief I replied, "Yeah, right. I'm sure he came up with a bunch of _great_ stories to tell you about me. _Oh, no_! It's more than **LIKELY** some more cruel insults he didn't want to say to my face!"

"Cindy, it's nothing like that at all! Would you at least let me tell you what he said?"

_As if I have a choice…_ I thought to myself. She wasn't about to let this go, and I had finally given up on trying to avoid this conversation. I knew it was coming someday anyway.

"Okay, fine. What did he say?"

"You're the one thing Jimmy's been thinking a lot about lately. Before we were stranded, he told me he wanted to ask you out on a date, but feared of being rejected. He thinks you really hate him, and he doesn't want to rush into anything serious if you don't."

"He just told me yesterday that we could never be together! Why would he tell you that he's interested in me, and then tell me something entirely different?" I questioned.

"Cindy, he's a boy. You know how slow they are when it comes to relationships! He just hasn't fully realized how much you really care for him."

I sighed. I wasn't ready to try to get through to him anymore than I already tried to. Neutron was stressing me out to no end!

It was at that moment that Libby saw Jimmy entering the mall. What would he be doing here?

"Cindy, look! There he is now!"

I looked all around me, until I saw him. "Neutron?! What's he doing here?"

"I don't know, Cindy, but maybe this is your chance to try to get through to him again!"

"Get through to him? I just tried to do that yesterday, and he wouldn't listen!"

"Just change your approach—you won't know unless you keep trying."

**_Jimmy_**

I had another busy day ahead of me. Of all the places I had to go, the mall was one of them, and of all the people I had to run into, Cindy had to be that person.

"Neutron, wait up! We need to talk!"

You're probably going to ask me what I would be doing at a place mostly girls go to for their amusement. I'll be up front about it. I wanted to do something different for a change besides just working on my usual projects in the lab. I was burned out with working all the time, and to be honest, I never got out enough. Youth comes once in your life and you have to have fun once in awhile, which for me is different than the kinds of fun that other normal typical kids usually have. I wanted to make a quick trip to the bookstore for some more autobiographies to read in my spare time, which would hopefully cure my overworked state so that I could get back to finishing my work.

The one thing that was keeping me from getting to where I wanted to be was Cindy. The thought had never crossed my mind that I would run into her here, but after all it is the mall. I was mentally kicking myself as she kept running towards me.

"Jimmy!" she called out to me again.

I started to walk faster, hoping I'd lose her in the crowd, but she started to practically sprint after me. Sighing, I already knew I couldn't even lose her if I tried.

She suddenly stopped and grabbed my arm and twisted me around. I could see the longing in her eyes.

"Cindy, we've been through this."

"I know we have! But, I still care about you, and I'm willing to make things work—I'm willing to make sacrifices!"

"I'm in a hurry…I just came here to get some books and go home." I said in a rushed tone.

Tears started flowing down her cheeks. I couldn't bear to watch her like that. It was a side of her I had never seen before. She wanted to say more, but for some reason couldn't find the words. I was still well aware that Cindy was very much in love with me, probably as much as I was in love with her. I just wasn't ready to make that kind of commitment yet. Not now.

After a few moments of silence, Cindy spoke again. "Please give me a chance. It's not often that you have an opportunity like this. If you think that Betty or any other girl would ever even care about you as much as I do, you're wrong. Have any of them ever helped you get through your toughest adventures? Have they ever been there for you when you really needed them to be?"

She made some valid points there. She has been there for me through everything. I've never ever felt more close to any girl like I did with Cindy. Fear and pride however, were getting the best of me. I still wasn't ready to admit my feelings.

I couldn't find the exact way to tell her. This whole situation was too confusing, and it was beginning to take its toll on my stress levels. I couldn't control my emotions.

"Cindy, why are you doing this? _I don't want to be with you!_ Do you understand me?!"

She started to turn away, but for some reason I had a lot more to say to her—things I'd probably regret saying later on, but never really thought about at the time.

"I don't ever want to see you or speak to you again Cindy—**EVER**. Don't come over to my house, don't call me and I would suggest you not even try to contact me in school either. You're nothing but a nuisance and a pest!"

She glanced back at me with that river full of tears continuing to fall down her cheeks.

"Libby was wrong about you and so was I!" she cried. She then quickly turned and bolted out of the mall with Libby calling after her.

I don't even know what made me even say those things to Cindy—they just came out like a natural reaction I usually get whenever I'm around her. I was just so scared of her! Being teased and tormented for the last two years by this girl has taken its toll on me greatly. I never know when she wants to be nice to me, or when she wants to spit out another insult or joke directed towards me.

You know what? I should have stayed in my lab that day.

_A/N: This chapter took a pretty long time for me to write. It really is hard trying to write in two different points of view! This might not be one of my best chapters, but I did give it my best shot. Click on the blue review button and let me know how this was._


	5. Thoughts

Disclaimer: I don't own Jimmy Neutron.

_**Cindy**_

With tears that were still streaming down my cheeks I wrote in the only place where I could keep my most deepest and private thoughts—my diary.

_Dear Diary,_

_I'm going to say this for the record: I **hate **Jimmy Neutron. I hate him with every thread of my being and of my whole existence. What happened yesterday was even more humiliating than what happened the day before. He has the nerve to call me a pest, especially after trying to be nice to him on two different occasions in the last two days! There have been so many times that I think Jimmy absolutely hates me, but those times were purely judgmental. I didn't think he actually hated me, but just pretended to, to possibly hide some shred of feelings for me that I supposedly thought he had. I was wrong to ever think that he would ever feel the same way about me that I do about him. How could I have been so stupid?_

As I continued to write, my thoughts drifted back to what happened after I left the mall. Libby was calling after me, but I couldn't talk to her, or anyone. I was too heartbroken to even care about anything else around me. I just kept running and running until I reached my house, which I can say is most definitely a new record for me—I've never been able to run 2 miles in my life until that day. It's interesting how rivals make you do things you normally can't do otherwise.

_I feel as if fate has dealt me one of the cruelest blows on my heart ever. I could never forget what he said to me today—"You're annoying and a real pest!" How could he say that to me? After all we've been through he actually has the nerve to say that! What a big-headed jerk!_

I think I need to reevaluate myself and my relationship with Jimmy, if there even is one at all. **He** doesn't appear to think we even have one! It's always, 'I hate you, you hate me, and I'm so much better than you can ever be'. He always sees things this way—so one-sided.

I'm also starting to ponder what life would be like if Neutron wasn't in it. I definitely wouldn't mind being the smartest kid in class again—I miss those days. I wasn't even as cruel to people as I've gotten to be in the last few years. For the most part, guys existed, but they were a really small part of my life. I had my small circle of friends and a pretty above-average social life that I could be proud of. My parents have always been proud of my achievements, even if we aren't that close all the time. My mother especially was and still is concerned a lot more with our wealth to really make that much room for me in my life. I guess that's why my dad decided to leave the picture shortly after I returned from being kidnapped on Yolkus a year or so back. He really couldn't stand being around her anymore because she was more concerned about money than about trying to raise a family. At least my parents love me in their own way, however, and that's really all that matters, I suppose.

It's hard for me to even believe I have grown up mentally and emotionally faster than most eleven-year-old girls do. I want to believe that girls are better than boys, but in reality, they both fit somewhere in the middle, like a sort of equilibrium, so to speak. Both boys and girls have their own special abilities that make them who they are. Everyone is defined by who we are, what people perceive us to be, and what people think of us. I still wish that girls like myself didn't fall in love so early in their lives. If I wasn't so in love with this rival I have grown so accustomed to hating, I'd still probably have a school-girl crush on Nick, and life would make so much more sense. All of my rational thought would return, and all would be right in my perfect world.

Fate, unfortunately, dealt me with a cruel hand. I had to love Jimmy Neutron, with the ice-cream cone hair, oversized ego, and that show offy know-it-all attitude. There's no choice except for me to either except that, or go through life wondering 'what if'. There was only one problem—he still didn't feel the same way. Maybe we should go back to arguing again…or I could just force him to confess how he feels, but that would probably result in a drastic, traumatic consequence for myself. I can't seem to focus on what I want in life anymore. I don't want to fight hi, and I don't want him to tell me how he feels out of force. It's really hard for me to even go through life day to day wondering what Jimmy even thinks of me, whether he thinks of me at all, or if he even cares about me.

My depression is only getting worse. I don't enjoy torturing Jimmy like I used to, although he apparently still thinks I do. Competing with him at school isn't any fun either. I just let him answer and keep my mouth shut. Everyone is wondering what's up with me and why I don't even talk much at school anymore. Other than the fact that my conduct is now exceptional, I am truly not happy anymore. I can't just tell the whole class that "I love Jimmy Neutron" and go on to explain why he doesn't feel the same way I do—I'll be laughed out school!

Fifth graders don't date—it's a sort of social rule that elementary children, girls and boys are supposed to dislike each other. Only the coolest guys in our grade could date the coolest girls, and everyone else must stay out of the way. I'm sort of in the middle—If I'm caught even thinking about the possibility of dating someone that is un-cool, I'll never be regarded the same way again. I would be considered an outcast by everyone that ever thought I was cool if anyone outside of Libby was to find out that I was dating my arch-nemesis.

Sunday was another day.

_**Jimmy**_

What an awful day that was. I couldn't get Vortex to leave me alone! She was always there it seemed—wherever I was, there _she_ was.

I should have known with Libby being at the mall that day, that she would have told Cindy everything I told her about how I felt. I swore her to secrecy. Maybe that's why I reacted the way I did when Cindy came running up to me, who knows? When I look back on it, I don't even know why I acted so foolishly. I knew I was scared, but of what, I didn't know. More than likely it was because I was afraid to love. I had somehow managed to get the idea into my head that I wasn't the one for her. I didn't want her to be constantly teased in school every day because she was going out with me. Even _I_ didn't want to be teased for going out with her! Everyone knows that fifth-graders do not date. No one starts dating until at least junior high, possibly even high school. When you're in elementary school, you're still not supposed to even like girls yet…well, maybe Betty Quinlan, but that's another story altogether.

I didn't know what I wanted to do. I could call her and apologize for acting the way I had, I could go back to torturing her, or I could just not speak to her anymore. Any of those three choices weren't the way to go. I wasn't in the mood to talk to Cindy at all period.

She also thinks I haven't noticed her behavior at school. I actually dread coming to school now that we don't feud anymore. I always have the answers with no snide comebacks anymore. She's always quiet in class now. It's hard to believe that things between us hadn't been the same after that short period of time we spent together on the island. Even my friends have been asking me what's been up with her because they seem to think that I know, because I actually _did_. The only reason why I didn't tell them was because the last thing I needed was a hyperactive fan of a super hero television show that I never watch and an over-obsessive llama observer taunting me each and every day about my supposed 'secret love life' with Cindy Vortex. When it comes to issues involving girls, they are at times, way too immature to understand exactly what I'm going through. They would be too busy spending their time annoying me with their jokes to even remotely realize how much I care for this girl that I loathe so much.

I looked out my window, wondering what she was doing at that moment. I couldn't see any movement, but I could tell something was wrong. I imagined she was probably sprawled across her bed crying because of what I said to her. I think I might even have what some people call ESP. I can actually almost envision what's going on with Cindy—something I'm not even able to do with my other friends. I can only read her mind and hers only—no one else's. Maybe instead of ESP, I have CSP—the ability to read Cindy's mind.

More than anything I wanted to just go right over to her house and just talk to her, but I lacked the courage to do it. I was still a bit annoyed at the time due to what happened because I really wanted to be alone. What I needed was time to clear my head, and a lot more time than Cindy was willing to wait. She wanted me to have a change of heart right then and there, like a child who's so used to watching random, mindless cartoon shows wanting everything to happen for them right away in real life. Sometimes she just doesn't understand that these types of situations take a lot of time to think about.

I picked a crumpled piece of paper out of my wastebasket. It was for the formal dance coming up in two weeks. Everyone else already had a date to the dance. Even Sheen, surprisingly enough was actually able to convince Libby to accompany him. For the most part, I had already told my friends I wasn't going to go. They knew I didn't dance, and that formal school functions, if they weren't academic-related, were definitely not my thing. Besides, I could never, ever take Cindy. What would everyone else think? And what would her friends think if she were to be seen with me? She'd get laughed out of the school, and I'd never be able to forgive myself for ruining her image. The last thing I wanted was for Cindy to be upset, which was actually strange enough for me to even think considering all the times she's upset me.

I looked out my window and into Cindy's once again noticing some movement that time. She was putting a book of some type away, and I could see the tears still coming down her face. _I better stay out of her way tomorrow. She's for sure not going to want to talk to me after how I've acted_. I thought.

She went back to her old ways the next day and trouble had started to ensue once more. I was not happy to see the old Cindy beginning to show once again.

_A/N: I twisted my ankle something awful today just walking down the last step of a series of steps I had to take on campus, so I had some extra time to work on this—which is both good and a curse. It was good, because I was actually able to come up with ideas I probably never would have thought of otherwise. Hopefully I'll feel better soon, but I have a long road ahead. Read and review this, guys! And thanks so much to everyone that has reviewed and been so patient with me during all of my busy time I have in college this semester. I really appreciate it._


	6. Escape

Disclaimer: I don't own Jimmy Neutron.

**_Cindy_**

I awoke the next morning in an extremely bad mood, slamming drawers and doors, and throwing things everywhere. If Neutron could be cruel and hateful, so could I. At the time I had thought we would forever hate each other from that day forward. I was sick and tired of people toying with _my_ emotions—I couldn't take it anymore! How dare he tell me I'm annoying and a pain. If anything, **he's **the one that's annoying! No one can ever understand a word he says except for me, and even at times, I don't even get what he's saying.

Let's just say if I were to even see him at all that day, I'd verbally tear him apart.

"Neutron, you're going down!" I yelled at the top of my voice with the sound of my blaring radio in the background. I found the loudest heavy metal song I could find to drown out the rage I felt inside.

My hair and clothes were a complete mess that day and I didn't even care. I was wearing a black halter top and jeans and my hair was completely frizzy. Looks were hardly important to me anymore; I was a rebel and nothing was going to stop me. All thought and logic totally escaped my train of thought. I wanted to be alone and if anyone stood in my way, there would most definitely be trouble.

Little did I know when I left the house that I would find trouble staring back at me. I didn't even know where I was going or cared—I wanted to escape. Imagine to my surprise as I shut the front door behind me that I was face to face with the last person I wanted to see.

"Cindy?" he asked, eyeing my ridiculous outfit.

"What do you want, Neutron?"

He fidgeted nervously before he could answer me. "I thought—"

"I haven't got all day! What is it!"

His concerned expression turned into one of complete frustration.

"I wanted to talk to you!"

"There's nothing to talk about! Get out of my way!" I shouted, moving him aside.

"I'm not leaving until we talk, whether you like it or not. Please hear me out for once!"

I turned around with a death stare in my eyes. "I've heard you out, and you know what I think?"

All he could do was stare in my eyes. "I've heard you out, and you know what I think?"

All he could do was give me a blank stare that only fueled the fire even more so. I continued.

"I think you are a self-centered manipulative jerk with no sense of any rational thought! There's way more to life than mathematical terms and scientific concepts. You want to problem solve your way out of love and relationships. Love is not a science—it's not even math! It's emotion, trust…understanding! It's just wanting to be with that person for no reason at all because you love them. It's showing that person each and every day that you care about them no matter how many faults that person has!"

He just looked at me with his mouth hung wide open, surprised at the speech that took me months of great courage to say.

"You might be a genius mathematically and scientifically, but you don't have a clue about how I once felt about you."

"Cindy—"

"Save it. I don't _ever_ want to speak to you again. And if you even think about crossing my path, I'll—"

Cutting me off, he stepped toward me and brushed some of the stray hair away from my face. Then he put his hand on my cheek and leaned forward to kiss me.

My face began to turn extremely red and I glared at him angrily. In a fit of rage, I balled my left fist up and punched him in the face.

"Don't even think about trying anything, Neutron! _I'm done with you!_"

I quickly turned and ran off with tears stinging my eyes. I was finished with Retroville, with Jimmy…with everything. I didn't look back.

_**Jimmy**_

The day before I vowed to stay out of Cindy's way.

I couldn't. I had to talk to her.

Something inside me told me that I had to make things right with her because deep down inside, I had feelings for her…I was just too afraid to show them.

Reality finally hit me after Cindy's long explanation about what a relationship is truly about. I was too afraid to admit she was right.

I've spent long exhausting days in my lab trying to figure out exactly what love really is. Experiment after experiment for weeks I did this. I wanted to be able to prove scientifically that love was only a temporary emotion that doesn't last forever. I never, ever wanted to fall in love and even made a pact with my friends that we wouldn't like girls.

After spending a few days on the island with Cindy, I completely changed my mind. I actually enjoyed being with her and I never realized she had such strong feelings for me until that point. All that time I thought she was one-sided after being tormented by her to no end. The only way I could've known the whole time that she was only hiding her true feelings was if I could subliminally read her thoughts, and she would have beat me to a pulp if I did that.

I felt so guilty about hurting her. I really wish she would've told me sooner instead of putting me through so much frustration and grief.

Those were the reasons why I wanted to talk to her that day. I wanted to show her how I felt the only way I could. That's why I thought if I could kiss her the same way Cindy had kissed me a few days ago, maybe even better, that she would know that I loved her even more than science itself.

I've watched a few sappy romance movies to know that showing can be easier than telling. The only difference is in movies you don't normally get punched in the face for trying to show someone you care.

I rubbed my face where Cindy hit me as I picked myself off the warm asphalt. I could feel the tears begin to form as I watched her heading away from town at a rapid speed. Not only had I broken _her _heart, but Cindy Vortex had broken mine. I wanted to call out to her or even try to catch up, but I couldn't even move, much less form the words I wanted to say to her. Like a statue, I resumed my stance crying like a lost child in an amusement park. For the first time in my life, I didn't know what to do. I didn't have the solution to this problem.

_A/N: I apologize for this being so short. I kept thinking that I could make this longer, but I think I've probably exhausted this scene enough. I've been able to put some great feeling into this chapter, however, which is what I intended to do. This is the one of the many major conflicts these characters will have in the story. __I've also had a rough couple of weeks, and ideas have just been hard for me to come up with. I hope I'll be able to get a new rush of situations for me to explore with this soon though. Thanks for being so patient with me during these times._


	7. Breakaway

Disclaimer: I don't own Jimmy Neutron.

_**Cindy**_

I continued running until all of my energy had been completely drained. Jimmy actually has the nerve to try to kiss me after all he's put me though these past few days. The nerve! How dare he try to magnetize me by working his twisted charms! He even acted like I was actually supposed to like the fact that he actually wanted to kiss me and dare I say it—confess how he really felt! When I tried to be nice to him a few days before, he literally stomped on my heart, and then all of a sudden he just changes his mind? Knowing Neutron, it must have been a setup.

It was at that moment that I couldn't take any more chances. I wasn't going to give my heart or emotions away too easily with anyone anymore. It just wasn't worth it.

I stopped running and took a look around at my surroundings. I'd never away from the city before, and had decided if I went somewhere that no one would ever find me that I would be a whole lot better off. One of the first things I noticed was the monotonous rows of old, crumbing shacks up and down the street. I didn't have a clue where I was. I then heard a loud crash like the sound glass makes when it breaks. A sudden rush of fear overcame me as I began walk a bit slower. It was then that I realized I was in a much rougher part of Retroville where crime and violence were most prominent.

"That must've been the person who threw that rock! After her!"

I turned around to see some much older boys with their baseball caps turned backwards, ragged, torn white T-shirts and baggy pants charging after me. I picked up my pace and started to run once more. I didn't know where to hide or even find help. They even have the gall to accuse me of throwing a rock through some window when they've never even seen me before! My heart was pounding as I quickly scanned the area for a place to hide. I had completely forgotten to bring my cell phone with me and there wasn't a phone as far as the eye could see in this wasteland.

I know I could have probably tried my advanced tai chi skills on those losers, but five against one was a lot more than I could physically handle and I was already extremely exhausted from running. If I couldn't find a place to go soon, I would be captured for sure, and with no possible way out, I might not have survived.

It was in that moment of possible defeat that I found a sewer cover laid to one side straight ahead of me. As much as I hate sewers and would never be caught dead in a dark, smelly ruin such as one, I knew I had to go somewhere and it was my only sanctuary away from who was chasing me. I quickly climbed down the ladder and closed it up. It would take at least a minute or two to get the cover off, which bought me a few extra minutes to escape.

I took as many turns and shortcuts as I could as I started to hear their voices once more. I felt my stomach cramp and my legs give out, and I knew that if I didn't stop soon I'd collapse. I had almost begun to lose hope when I noticed an opening just barely large enough for my to crawl through near the end of the particular tunnel I was in. I made one last sprint towards it and got down on my knees. I quickly crawled into the dwelling as far back as I possibly could until I was certain they wouldn't find me.

Eventually I heard voices and saw their footsteps as they got closer to the end of the tunnel.

"I could've sworn I saw her go this way!" one of them shouted.

"Great job, man! Now we've lost her!" another said.

"Well it wasn't my fault that you had to go the wrong way! She must have taken a right turn instead of a left!"

"You saw her go left just as well as I did! Why are you accusing me of getting us lost!"

"Getting lost has nothing to do with that chick who broke out one of our windows!"

"All I know is that we better find her soon, or she'll expose our gang, Chris."

"As if we aren't already exposed…"

"Shut up, dude!"

I felt my body begin to tense up as I remained huddled in that tight cramped little space. _Gang?_ I thought. I had left the comfort and security of my own neighborhood and entered into a world fully of hate and violence. Here, I wasn't one of the toughest because the toughest survive in groups, not alone. Instead of having one enemy I sort-of hated, I now had 4 unknown enemies after me, accusing me of spying on an organization I knew nothing about.

Frightened, cold and alone, I still didn't know exactly where I was. This wasn't like visiting some unknown planet with Neutron and my friends where we were usually the dominant, fearless culture that never shied away from challenges. Working together as a team, we could always overcome obstacles no matter how large they were. The only problem was, I wasn't with my friends on another planet, I was stuck in this cold sewer in a dangerous neighborhood far away from home.

The first thing I had to do was find the other end of the opening and get out of this place. I may not have been able to get home, but I could at least go back to the surface to find something to eat, and a good place to stay for the night. I looked to the right of me to see nothing but darkness. I had to keep crawling until I could find the other end and I was also curious to find out where it would take me.

_**Jimmy**_

I paced back and forth in my room with a heartbroken expression on my face. I had totally ruined my chances with Cindy, and now she didn't want anything to do with me or with anyone else. I only wanted to call a truce and make things right with her again because I really and truly needed her beside me. Without Cindy, I wasn't anything, and I was finally starting to realize that. Through all the competition and the arguments there was always that spark we seemed to have every time we looked at each other. We've always had some type of intellectual chemistry that's attracted us to each other. Cindy probably even knew that but never thought I could ever have had the same kind of strong feelings that she had for me.

I've known all this time that she's secretly liked me, but at the same time I still knew she hated me because I never wanted to ever see things from her perspective; I was always right and succeeded in proving her wrong nearly every single time. Cindy could never be as smart as I was because she was a girl and it was always my theory that boys are smarter and better at everything. There wasn't one thing they could do that I couldn't do better.

I finally began to realize at that point that I missed her immensely and felt an extreme pang of guilt hurting me inside. She wanted to apologize for how she had treated me because she cared for me, and all I could do was continue to push her away and keep treating her the way I always had. I was afraid of change…I knew the moment Cindy and I decided we truly wanted to be together that things would go completely wrong. If I ever did anything to hurt her, even if it was unintentional, she would hate me even more and vice versa for myself. I didn't believe a relationship at our age was normal, much less healthy for us because I didn't feel that we were mature enough to handle one.

I still couldn't take my eyes of girls like Betty Quinlan due to the fact that I was always attracted to their looks and never their IQ level. I'm pretty sure girls like her were intelligent, no doubt, but their constant flirtations with me normally shut down my complete train of thought. All I could ever think about was how pretty they looked and how nice they appeared to act. Those two value judgements weren't enough for me to really know those types of girls. I don't even know any more about Betty except for the fact that she was beautiful, popular and seemed to be nice. Outside of that, I knew nothing about her.

Cindy and I knew more about each other than anyone else we ever knew. We were interested in most of the same academic subjects, enjoyed space travel (she always came with me and my friends nearly every time because she felt she could be useful, and she actually _has_ been an important asset to me), we both had an extreme passion for science, logic and knowledge, we liked to compete with each other, and we definitely enjoyed challenges. It never even bothered me that much that she was slightly taller than I was. She wasn't just beautiful physically, but on the inside as well. Cindy was the only person I not only admired, but was also attracted to for her beauty, her intellect and her tough inner shell. She never let anyone or anything get in her way because she could take anything or anyone head-on.

I had to face facts. I was in love with her.

I sat looking out my window as I was drifting in and out of conscious thought. After what seemed like hours, a knock came at my door from my mother.

"Jimmy, Mrs. Vortex just called. Have you seen Cindy at all today?"

I absently gazed out my window with that continued look of rejection plastered on my face.

"Yeah, I saw her."

"She told me she's been gone all day and she hasn't come home yet. She's calling everyone to ask where she might have gone."

I turned to face her with a worried expression on my face. I may not have known where she went, but I did know why, and it was my fault.

"I think I know why she might have run away, Mom. I have to find her!" I leaped off the bed and tried to leave my room, but she prevented me from leaving.

"Jimmy, it's after dark! You know it's way too dangerous to be out this time of night!"

"I know, but this is something I have to do, if not for her, then for myself. I'm the one that caused her to run away, and I have to bring her back! She might be hurt."

Now normally if it had been anyone else, she never would have let me leave the house. My mother's always worried for my safety and always wants me to be careful. But this time, I saw a look on my face I had never seen before. I think even she knew that I cared about Cindy more than anything. I didn't have to beg or even plead, and I saw her expression soften when she let me go.

"I know you care about Cindy. Just…be careful."

I gave her a hug as I bolted for the stairs.

"Don't stay out too late! And make sure to call us or Cindy's mom if you find her, or if anything happens!"

I called out to Goddard as I quickly headed to the hovercar.

"Goddard, I need you to locate Cindy!" I commanded as we took off.

_A/N: This was a quicker update than usual. I came up with an interesting conflict that works well with how I want the story to turn out. Cindy and Jimmy still have many obstacles to overcome, especially as events unfold a little later on._


	8. Permenent Decision

No further work will be done to this story. If anyone would like to continue it let me know.

Thanks for reading.


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